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divide.

To split or separate (something) into two or more parts.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/dɪˈvaɪd/UK
  1. To split or separate (something) into two or more parts.

    transitive
    a wall divides two houses; a stream divides the towns
  2. To separate into two or more parts.

    intransitive
  3. To share (something) by dividing it.

    transitive
    How shall we divide this pie?
  4. To cause (a group of people) to disagree.

    transitive
    Words divide us; Wiktionary unites us.
  5. To calculate the quotient number by which another one (the divisor) is multiplied to produce a second number (the dividend).

    transitive
    If you divide 6 by 3, you get 2.
  6. To be a divisor of.

    transitive
    3 divides 6.
  7. To reproduce by either mitosis or meiosis.

    intransitive
  8. To disunite in opinion or interest; to make discordant or hostile; to set at variance.

    intransitive
  9. To break friendship; to fall out.

    intransitive · obsolete
  10. To have a share; to partake.

    obsolete
  11. To vote, as in the British parliament and other legislatures, by the members separating themselves into two parties (as on opposite sides of the hall or in opposite lobbies), that is, the ayes dividing from the nays.

    intransitive
  12. To split (something) into regular steps or intervals; to mark with degrees; to graduate.

    transitive
    to divide a sextant
  13. To play or sing in a florid style, or with variations.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-der. Proto-Italic *wiðō Latin *vidō Latin dīvidōder. Middle English dividen English divide PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan related to English deal which formerly meant a “portion” or “part” of something.

noun/dɪˈvaɪd/UK
  1. A thing that divides.

    Stay on your side of the divide, please.
  2. An act of dividing.

    The divide left most of the good land on my share of the property.
  3. A distancing between two people or things.

    There is a great divide between us.
  4. A large chasm, gorge, or ravine between two areas of land.

    If you're heading to the coast, you'll have to cross the divide first.
    The team crossed streams and jumped across deep, narrow divides in the glacier.
  5. The topographical boundary dividing two adjacent catchment basins, such as a ridge or a crest.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁-der. Proto-Italic *wiðō Latin *vidō Latin dīvidōder. Middle English dividen English divide PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan related to English deal which formerly meant a “portion” or “part” of something.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.